He's the interloper, the guy who's not supposed to be there but gets to be there because of someone else's misfortune.
He's also confident, recklessly so at times, and needs to be aggressive to be effective.
That's the fine line on which Aaron Holiday walks into the starting lineup for the Pacers as the guard who replaces center Domantas Sabonis, who is recovering from plantar fasciitis in Los Angeles. With Sabonis' return uncertain, and perhaps leaning toward unlikely, Holiday has both a great opportunity and great responsibility when the Pacers resume their regular season on Saturday against Philadelphia.
He struggled with it in Tuesday's 118-111 loss to San Antonio at the HP Field House in Orlando, finishing with eight points on 4-of-13 shooting along with four rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes of action. That was particularly true at the start of the second half when he missed four of his first five shots, including two 3-pointers.
Some of them were ill-advised, which is nothing new. Holiday, remember, was benched for two games after putting up six shots in his first 6 minutes, 44 seconds of the season opener against Detroit. He also was shown to a seat after putting up three jump shots in the first 1 minute, 19 seconds of the fourth quarter of the game against the Clippers on Dec. 9, when the Pacers trailed by 18 points.
Firing those blanks at the start of the third period on Tuesday had the same impact. Coach Nate McMillan opened the fourth quarter with his other Holiday option, Justin, playing with the other four starters.
"I'll talk to Aaron," McMillan said afterward.
McMillan has had plenty of conversations with the younger Holiday about shot selection and decision-making, both this season and last. That's why Holiday's role as a starter with this group is as much about what he doesn't do as what he does. He won't be needed to score much while accompanied by Malcolm Brogdon, Victor Oladipo, T.J. Warren, and Myles Turner. Tight defense, ball movement, and avoiding turnovers are his primary job descriptions.
"He needs to let the game come to him," McMillan said. "He doesn't need to force anything. Get out there and defend and he'll be fine."
Holiday has been the Pacers' designated replacement starter almost regardless of who is injured because McMillan wants to keep his bench trio of T.J. McConnell, Justin Holiday, and Doug McDermott together to maintain the chemistry they have established.
Holiday has started 26 games and come off the bench for 32. He has averaged 11.8 points as a starter, which would be plenty under the current circumstances, but has been a better shooter and has a better plus-minus rating coming off the bench. Patience remains an elusive virtue.
"He needs to be aggressive but pick and choose his spots," Turner said following Tuesday's scrimmage. "He has to be a little more under control, but for the most part we know how talented Aaron is. Once he makes his mind up and gets to it, he'll be fine."
Holiday will need to reverse another trend for the Pacers to survive for long without Sabonis. He was sharp before the All-Star break, averaging 9.9 points over 23 minutes while hitting 41.5 percent of his field goal attempts and 41 percent of his 3-pointers. He hasn't been nearly as efficient since the break, averaging 7 points over 28 minutes while shooting just 35 percent from the field and 25 percent from behind the 3-point line.
His play over the three exhibition games in Orlando maintained the pattern, as he averaged 9.7 points on 37.5 percent shooting from the field and hit just 2-of-13 3-pointers.
McMillan will stick with him for as long as possible, however, given his limited resources. The only other proven point guard available among the reserves is McConnell, who was outstanding in Tuesday's scrimmage with 14 points, 11 assists, and no turnovers.
McConnell is the team's best playmaker, which he reiterated in the three exhibition games by accumulating 23 assists with just two turnovers. He was effective in the three games he started earlier in the season as well, with 20 assists and three turnovers. Brogdon was not available for any of those games, however. He is now, and McDermott and Justin Holiday and others would feel the impact if McConnell were to abandon them and move into the starting lineup.
McConnell says he's up for whatever is asked of him but is comfortable where he's at.
"I think we have a good thing going," he said. "I think we have a great chemistry. I've really bought into the backup role."
Now it's up to Holiday to buy into his starting role. Without overspending on offense.
Notes
The Pacers came out of Tuesday's scrimmage with no new physical issues, according to McMillan...They will take Wednesday off from practice and spend the evening watching a documentary on rookie Goga Bitadze's home country, the Republic of Georgia. Bitadze has yet to practice in Orlando because of soft tissue damage and is at least two weeks away from playing, according to McMillan...Turner led the Pacers with 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss to the Spurs. He hit 7-of-11 field goals. McDermott added 13 off the bench, hitting 5-of-7 shots. Oladipo hit just 4-of-16 shots and scored 10 points.
Have a question for Mark? Want it to be on Pacers.com? Email him at askmontieth@gmail.com and you could be featured in his next mailbag.
Mark Montieth's book on the formation and groundbreaking seasons of the Pacers, "Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis," is available in bookstores throughout Indiana and on Amazon.com.
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Mark Montieth are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.
The Link LonkJuly 29, 2020 at 08:34AM
https://ift.tt/336VWGq
Aaron Holiday Trying to Find Niche - Pacers.com
https://ift.tt/2QoXNjh
Holiday
No comments:
Post a Comment